Tokyo 2020: Jacobs stuns 100M field to clinch historic gold for Italy

The first Italian man ever to reach the final at the Games, Jacobs won in a time of 9.80sec, breaking the European record he set in the semifinal.

Fred Kerley of the United States took silver, with Canada’s Andre de Grasse winning bronze just as he did five years ago in at Rio 2016.

GRANDE JACOBS, GRANDE ITALIA ????????

Marcell Lamont Jacobs is the #Olympics 100m champion!

He breaks the European record, he set just earlier today in the semi finals with 9.80.#athletics #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/FhDDpi2GqN

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 1, 2021

The three medallists all claimed personal bests as all finishers went under 10sec seconds, Nigeria’s Enoch Adegoke pulling up injured around the halfway mark.

The first Olympic 100M contest in the post-Usain Bolt era had been difficult to predict and that continued in the semifinals, as USA trials winner Trayvon Bromell, the fastest man in the world this year heading into Tokyo, failed to qualify with a time of 10.00.

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The quickest times were in the third semifinal, won by 60M expert Su Bingtian, who smashed the Asian record with a time of 9.83sec to become the first man from the continent to reach the Olympic 100M final since 1932.

He finished just ahead of Ronnie Baker (9.83) and Jacobs, who set a new continental best of 9.84.

After Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes was disqualified for a false start, Su this time could not get the explosive start he needed and he was effectively out of the medals before the last third of the race.

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Kerley, who has come down from the 400M to try his hand over the shortest distance, looked strong in lane five but it was Jacobs who turned on the power over the closing metres before running to celebrate with compatriot Gianmarco Tamberi, who claimed joint high jump gold shortly before the race.

Jamaica’s Yohan Blake, another of the favourites also failed to qualify for the finals, which was the first in post-Bolt era.

The suspension of world champion Christian Coleman due to doping offenses had also lefy the field wide open as Jacobs created history for the Azzurris in a sport where they are not muck well versed.

(With OPTA inputs)